I just bought the alpine 9887 head unit and i was wondering if anyone is using this head unit and if you actually bought the imprint processor for it or if your running it by itself. All i have is the head unit for now because imprint is another $250.00 and im pretty happy with the way it sounds. It is kind of hard to figure out the adjustments on it and you cant adjust bass and treble like other HU.

i just installed mine and haven't played with any settings-sounds flat right now. the imprint is only $50 through crutchfield.com(it's a rental). i thought about using it but i have read that using restricts any user adjustment except bass and treble. i want to tweak it myself.

The 9887 is one of the more advanced Alpine head units at the moment. It has the ability to run 2-way active + Sub or 3-way Active.
If you want to limit your tuning to just bass and treble, the features of the 9887 are not for you and you bought the wrong deck.

Yeah the 9887 is for advanced users only and if you just wanted simple controls, you should have bought the 9886.

The imprint processor is ok, but in all honesty you can do much better tuning with the 9887...and I feel that if you aren't running an active component setup, buying the 9887 is truly a waste of money because you aren't using it's full capabilities and the 9886 is the same unit, minus the tuning features

Yeah the 9887 is for advanced users only and if you just wanted simple controls, you should have bought the 9886.

The imprint processor is ok, but in all honesty you can do much better tuning with the 9887...and I feel that if you aren't running an active component setup, buying the 9887 is truly a waste of money because you aren't using it's full capabilities and the 9886 is the same unit, minus the tuning features

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have you heard the imprint processor. some are saying that it gets closer to a better response then tuning alone. i bought this unit not for imprint, but to tweak. if i have a set it and forgot it system i'll want to sell it in a few months and being able to tweak minor adjustments over a couple of months may slow that down. to the OP you need to decide if that is the right headunit for you. check the features. if you got it already then i say keep it.

it allows more contol and a massive eq when used with the mic and a laptop. it listens to several spots in the vehicle and automatically adjusts the settings, crossovers, slopes, eq, and i think phase.

I have the 9887 and am a total noob to car audio but after a few months of playing around with it I am happy I made the purchase. At first I was a little confused with the crossover settings but with help from guy's on here and other sites it is a lot easier to use. I have also thought about installing Imprint but again I have heard good & bad about it.

edit: Start here on DIYmobileaudio.com. I pretty much read thru a few threads to learn more about the HU.

Def read as much as you can on diymobileaudio....you could spend days reading and still know almost nothing lol

Yeah i've run imprint in customer cars quite a few times, and I always find it lacking and needing an adjustment. It takes time, but tuning with a good ear and with the help of an RTA will always beat imprint by a mile